Despite a healthy serving of fine performances, realistic family squabbles and down-home cooking, Soul Food leaves viewers hungry for, well, some soul. Though never without conflict, Sunday family dinners at Mother Joe's (Hall) have kept her three daughters, careerist lawyer Teri (Williams), housewife Maxine (Fox) and beautician Bird (Long), and their families together through thick and thin. When Mother Joe falls ill and the dinners stop, the family begins to unravel. Soul Food was the sleeper hit of the fall, holding the top spot at the box office for several weeks.